One arrested for post-Godhra carnage

Ahmedabad, April 20 (IANS) The Special Investigation Team (SIT), formed by the Supreme Court to inquire into cases of the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat, has arrested a long time absconder in the infamous Gulbarg massacre. In its first arrest after it was formed March 25, the team Saturday nabbed Parbat Thakore from Banaskantha district, official sources said Sunday.

Thakore is accused of being involved in the Gulbarg massacre.

The five-member team led by former Central Bureau of Investigation director R.K. Raghavan April 8 visited the house of slain Congress MP Ehsan Jaffri, who was among the 39 people killed in Gulbarg society here six years ago.

The team also comprises three Gujarat IPS officers Geetha Johri, Shivanand Jha, and Ashish Bhatia and C.B. Satpathy, former director general of the Uttar Pradesh police.

It has to submit its report within three months to the Supreme Court.

The appointment of the SIT followed petitions in the apex court for reinvestigation of the cases of communal carnage that broke out following the burning of 59 Hindu activists in a coach of the Sabarmati Express at Godhra Feb 27, 2002. At least 1,000 people were killed in the violence that went on for weeks.